In motorized vehicles such as vans or other big passenger vehicles, situations frequently arise where it is desirable to quickly disconnect and remove one or more of the vehicle seats to increase available cargo space or to permit easy access to certain interior portions of the vehicle, perhaps for maintenance and/or repair purposes. A number of inventions have been conceived that provide release mechanisms for seats to be selectively removed from within the interior of a vehicle.
One such invention, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,067, consists of a quick release pedestal for a vehicle seat, comprising a base member rigidly attachable to a floor portion of a vehicle and having first and second pairs of elongated slots extending in spaced, parallel relation. A seat support member is releasably attached to the base member and includes two pairs of members each having the general shape of a hook, and oriented so as to be receivable into respective slots. The seat support member also includes a mechanism for releasing the support member from engagement to the base member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,571, discloses a mounting device for removably attaching a seat usable in a boat or other conveyance. The device includes a flanged lower plate which may be attached by screws, bolts or other means to the vehicle floor. The device further includes a flanged upper plate which at its top surface attaches to a seat base. The flanges at one of the ends of each plate contain a hole that receives a peg for fastening the flanges together. The flanges at the other of the ends of each plate contain a slot so that a latch can be moved vertically through the flanges allowing the plates to be disengaged. A user must align the latches with the slot and screw the latch in manually.
A detachable seat supporting structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,952, wherein a locking mechanism in the supporting structure uses two slots in a base plate fastened to the floor of a motor vehicle to releasably lock the seat into a secure position. A first locking mechanism rod is inserted into a U-shaped base plate slot with a detention at a bottom portion which provides a pivot point. The U-shaped slot allows the seat to be removed from the vehicle by lifting the rod out of the slot. A second locking mechanism rod associates with an L-shaped slot. The first and second rods are interconnected such that by rotating a handle on the second rod the rods move within the designated slots and provide a snap lock.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,245 discloses a movable, as well as removable, vehicle seat including a fixing mechanism for connecting the seat structure to the floor of a vehicle. The mechanism, which is mounted to move relative to the seat structure, includes a latch having a shoulder. The latch penetrates an opening in the vehicle floor and is capable of taking up either an unlocking position or a locking position.
The above mentioned inventions all permit a seat to be detached to allow greater room in the vehicle, and also to attach the seat to the vehicle for use. However, all of the inventions lack a mechanism which can be secured so that there is little movement between the base plate and the seat member. Also, the prior art fails to describe a seat mechanism which can be quickly situated and released. The present invention overcomes this and other deficiencies associated with prior art vehicle seat release mechanisms.